Method and apparatus for winding a multiple ply web



p 0, 1969 w. H. HERMAN 3,470,052

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR WINDING A MULTIPLE FLY WEB Filed March 28, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. WALTER H. HERMAN ATTORNEY Sept. 30, 1969 w. H. HERMAN METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR WINDING A MULTIPLE FLY WEB Filed March 28, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. WALTER H HERMAN ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,470,052 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR WINDING A MULTIPLE PLY WEB Walter H. Herman, South Hadley, Mass., assignor to Scott Paper Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Mar. 28, 1966, Ser. No. 538,080 Int. Cl. B32b 31 00; B65h 81/00 U.S. Cl. 156-484 4 Claims This invention relates to the art of winding two-ply webs and, more particularly, to a new and improved method and apparatus for preparing the ends of and accomplishing transfer and tail tying of lengths of webs having two-plies which are unattached to each other, and further relates to a product roll formed thereby.

The winding of roll products in the form of small consumer rolls of web material such as sanitary paper and paper toweling is commonly performed on automatic winding apparatus and often on so-called continuous winders. Such roll products are often placed in transparent wrappers through which sloppy or ineffective securement of the tail of the web to the roll is readily apparent to the customer. The smaller rolls are normally formed by rewinding a large parent or mill roll which is formed by modern high speed paper machinery.

A typical winding setup provides means for drawing a substantially continuous web from a large parent roll and means for feeding it over a rotating bed roll to one of a plurality of mandrels containing cores upon which smaller web rolls are wound. Upon the completion of the winding of one smaller roll, the web is severed, the tail formed thereby is secured to the completed roll, and the advancing free end of the web is attached to a fresh core carried by a rotating mandrel and advanced into winding position adjacent the bed roll. The completed roll is simultaneously moved out of winding position and the core containing the roll is stripped from the mandrel. The webs may be slit into a plurality of webs having lesser widths prior to winding of webs on the cores or the completed web roll or log may be out after winding into a plurality of web rolls of lesser width.

Normally, the tail end of a severed length of web which has been wound is adhered to the last ply of the roll by means of adhesive or some other attachment means. Similarly, the free leading end of a the severed web which represents the starting portion of the next length of web to be wound is fed into contact with a core carried on a rapidly rotating mandrel. The web is secured thereto to commence the winding of a second roll. Often adhesive is applied to the core to effect web attachment to the core although other means might be employed.

It is often desirable to form rolls of webs having two or more plies of thin paper web material which plies have a relatively low basis weight and are unattached to each other. These multiple-ply webs can be formed by rewinding thin webs of base tissue stock to form a large parent or mill roll of multiple-ply web material or by unwinding two or more single-ply parent rolls simultaneously on the product roll winder. There have been problems in converting such multiple-ply webs into smaller consumer rolls by normal high speed automatic winding equipment.

These problems generally center around the fact that the several plies of the web are unattached. Thus, when a free end is to be attached or handled such as in the step of transferring the leading end of the web to a new core or the step of tying the tail end of a wound web to a wound roll, the plies tend to separate. In some instances, the means for attaching the plies to a core or to a wound roll are effective only as to one ply and the outermost ply or the other ply remains free. This causes a fouling of the 3,470,052 Patented Sept. 30, 1969 winder or results in an unattractive end product roll having a loose or unwinding tail.

In view of the above difiiculties and shortcomings, it is the principle object of the present invention to provide a new and improved method and apparatus for winding multi-ply webs and especially webs having two plies of material unattached to each other.

It is an additional object of the invention to provide a new and improved method and apparatus for preparing end portions of a length of two-ply web to be wound to provide effective transfer and tail tying of a two-ply web in a winding process.

In accordance with the invention, a web having two plies generally unattached to each other is treated during the process of being converted into smaller consumer rolls so that areas of the web which will be adjacent the severed ends of the lengths of web wound have their plies physically attached to each other. In one embodiment, the web is embossed in these areas to provide after severance an embossed portion extending up to 2 inches or more from the line of severance of the web.

Difiiculty has also been experienced in locating the end of a two-ply web and insuring that upon unwinding the roll both plies will be simultaneously grasped by a user. In accordance with the invention, it is an object of the invention to provide a new and improved product roll of two-ply paper web which eliminates the above problem and facilitates the starting of a new roll of two-ply web material.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description thereof when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a typical product roll formed in accordance with the invention,

FIGURE 2 is an elevation view of one type of apparatus for accomplishing web winding in accordance with the invention,

FIGURE 3 is a partial sectional view taken along lines 33 of FIGURE 2, and

FIGURE 4 is a greatly enlarged elevation view illustrating a portion of the apparatus shown in FIGURE 2.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, a typical product roll 10 of the type sold to consumers is shown. Roll 10 has a core 11 about which is wound a two-ply paper web 12, one end of which is adhered to the core 11, the other end of which is adhered to the exterior of the wound roll by areas 13 of adhesive application upon or beneath the tail end of web 12. To avoid the problems caused by excess adhesive, adherence in each instance above is accomplished with respect to the innermost ply only; that is, the ply of the two-ply web which is nearest the core at the particular point being secured on the length of web being wound. Web 12 is further embossed in an area 14 at each of its ends as shown at the tail end, to attach two plies of the web 12 together.

FIGURE 2 illustrates apparatus for forming rolls such as shown in FIGURE 1 from a parent roll 16 of two-ply paper web material 17. Web 17 is drawn from parent roll 16 and fed over a guide roll 18 and under a dancer roll 19 and upwardly over a bowed expander roll 20. Dancer roll 19 serves to maintain a predetermined tension in web 17 during the winding process while allowing for slight variations in length and speed and while the web is being treated by expander roll 20. In this regard, dancer roll 19 is arranged for movement relative to guide roll 18 and expander roll 20. Expander roll 20 is employed to physically condition the web in a well-known manner so as to reduce the frequency of wrinkles as the web passes through the machine.

Web 17 is then fed between an anvil roll 21 and an associated embossing roll 22 arranged in accordance with the invention, after which it passes under a draw roll 23, over a perforating roll 30, under a second guide roll 25, and over a slitter bed roll 26 which cooperates with a slitter roll 27. At this point, the web is fed out onto a bed roll 28 and advanced toward one of a plurality of mandrels carried on the turret of an automatic winder.

Perforating roll 30 is employed to create transverse lines of perforations across the traveling web 17 and carries a plurality of perforating shear blades which operate in conjunction with a plurality of adjacent shear plates 31 in a manner well-known to those skilled in the art. If rolls of a product such as toilet tissue or paper toweling are to be formed, the lines of perforations are spaced at regular intervals along the web. In the embodiment shown, web 17 is slit prior to being wound onto cores and slitting is performed by passing it between the slitter bed roll 26 and a cooperating slitter roll 27 carrying a plurality of slitting knives arranged in spaced relation to each other along slitter roll 27 at intervals equal to the desired widths of the resulting webs. The slitter rolls employed may be of any of the well known types commercially employed in paper converting machinery.

Web 17 is fed in partial wrapping engagement over bed roll 28 after being slit into a plurality of webs of lesser width by slitter roll 27 and is further advanced toward a core 32 carried on one of a plurality of rotating mandrels 33 which are carried in revolution about an axis 34 by means of a rotatably mounted turret 35 (schematically shown). Upon the completion of the winding of one roll on a core 32, turret 35 is indexed by a Geneva cam or other suitable mechanism as is well-known in the art and revolves about axis 34 carrying roll 10 away from the bed roll 28 and a succeeding mandrel 33 having a fresh core mounted thereon is advanced into a pickup position for receiving the free leading end of web 17 for commencing the winding of a new roll.

Although many methods of accomplishing tail tying and transfer are known, one means shown in the embodiment of FIGURE 2 represents a brush-type alhesive applicator 37 arranged adjacent a core 32 carried on a mandrel 33 prior to being advanced into the pickup position and adapted to apply a thin layer of adhesive to the core 32 which will secure the free leading end of a web 17 to the core upon contact to commence the winding of a new roll. Upon the completion of the winding of a predetermined length of web on a core 32, a knife 38 mounted within the bed roll 28 is outwardly advanced through a cam system so that a cutting edge protrudes beyond the surface of bed roll 28 to severe the web at the predetermined spot. Operation of the knife may be performed by a sliding cam mechanism as is well-known in the art and disclosed in US. Patent No. 2,769,600. A brush may be mounted behind the knife and adapted to move outwardly with the knife to press the free leading edge of the web into engagement with the core 32 when the brush passes the pickup position. The tail of the web is then attached to the exterior of the roll by application of adhesive to the exterior of the roll after which the tail end of the web is pressed into contact with the adhesive covered portion. The application of adhesive for tail tying may be accomplished by the apparatus and in the manner described in US. Patent No. 3,096,948.

One of the problems experienced in the past has been that upon advancing the free end of the web 17 toward a fresh core 32, the two unattached plies of the web 17 would separate, thereby often fouling the winder. Furthermore, upon attempting to secure the tail of the web to the wound roll, the inner ply only would be attached to the roll leaving the outer ply of the two-ply web 17 free, resulting in an unattractive product roll having a loose tail.

In accordance with the invention, by the insertion of rolls such as the anvil roll 21 and an associated embossing roll 22 in the manner illustrated in FIGURE 2 to emboss a predetermined area of the web which includes the portion of the web where severance will be performed, it is possible to effect physical attachment of the two plies of Web 17 at these widely spaced intermittent portions of the Web in order to prevent the disengagement or separation of the two plies of web 17 during tail tying or transfer and after severance. correspondingly, a feature of the invention is the apparatus employed to accomplish embossing at these spaced apart portions of the web 17 and the manner in which this apparatus is controlled to operate only at the desired portions or areas of the web, that is, in the general area within which severance will occur.

In this regard, the area of a multiple-ply web within which embossing is desired will vary depending on the particular web and type of product involved. With a roll of toilet tissue, upon which a length of web is wound having approximately 500 two-ply sheets which measure about 4.5 inches long, the area of embossing will comprise only a small portion at the beginning and the end of a roll, that is, up to about 2 inches from the severed ends of the wound web.

The nature of the embossed pattern may vary, it being important only to accomplish some physical attachment of the plies of the web to each other in accordance with the invention. This insures easier starting of the unwinding of a roll by a consumer as well as securement of the plies to one another during tail tying and transfer.

As shown in FIGURES 2, 3 and 4, embossing roll 22 is rotatably mounted and supported by journals 40 carried by a supporting assembly 41. Supporting assembly 41 is pivotably mounted at pivot points 42 on main frame 43 and the opposite end of supporting assembly 41 is movable about pivot point 42. Bias means such as springs 44 are arranged to press embossing roll 22 against anvil roll 21 or against a web 17 running thereover. Thus, springs 44 exert pressure against supporting assembly 41 and against a portion of main frame 43 to urge supporting assembly 41 and embossing roll 22 in a clockwise direction about pivot point 42 as shown in FIGURE 2. The term bias means is also intended to include the arrangement of apparatus which, in some embodiments, provides for gravity force to act in pressing roll 22 against roll 21. Thus, the weight of roll 22 is substantial in some embodiments and, if arranged as in FIGURE 2, would be sufficient to accomplish embossing by gravity alone, without the use of springs 44.

A yoke assembly 46 more clearly shown in FIGURE 3 is arranged with connecting arms grasping the shaft of embossing roll 22 in rotation so that upon raising and lowering yoke assembly 46, the embossing roll 22 will be lifted into and out of engagement with a web running in partial wrapping engagement over anvil roll 21. Embossing roll 22, as can be seen from FIGURE 3, is divided into a plurality of smaller embossing sections 47 of lesser width by spaced apart areas to which journaled connecting arms of yoke assembly may be attached. It will be obvious that single continuous embossing roll 22 could also be employed with success.

The uppermost end 48 of yoke assembly 46 is pivotably attached to one or more arms 49, one end of which is pivotably attached to main winder frame 43. The opposite end of arms 49 carriers a follower wheel 50 which bears upon the camming surface 52 of one or more cams 53 which control the movement of the yoke assembly 46 and determine the operation of embossing roll 22 as will subsequently be described.

At this point, it has been discovered that several embodiments can be employed to control the movement of embossing roll 22 through arms 49 by means of cams 53. It is possible to design cam 53 so that it will have a relatively long period of rotation equal to the length of time reguired to wind a predetermined length of web 17 onto a roll 10. The cam 53 in that instance preferably has a depressed portion 55 at one point on its periphery which at the desired time will be located directly beneath the follower wheel 50 in order to allow the arms 49 to drop and, correspondingly, the embossing roll 22 to contact the web 17 and press it into engagement with the anvil roll 21 to secure together and physically attach the multiple plies of the web 17 within portions of the predetermined area along the length of the web 17.

It will be apparent that with such an arrangement, if the rolls have web material of substantial length wrapped thereon, the size of cam 53 would become impractically large since the depressed area 55 of the camming surface 52 must have a sufficient length relative to the entire length of the camming surface 52 to allow the accurate timing of the interval during which the yoke assembly 46 and embossing roll 22 are lowered. This is primarily because the accurate timing of this interval has an important effect on the positioning of the embossed area upon the overall length of web 17 and it would be highly undesirable in most products of this type to have an embossed area of undue length or located at positions other than at the extreme ends of the length of web wound.

Alternatively, therefore, a second embodiment is suggested for use in situations where the length of web 17 to be wound on each roll 10 is substantial. As can be seen from FIGURE 2 and more clearly in FIGURE 4, arms 49 have an extension 56 downwardly depending therefrom which contact a reciprocably mounted support member 57 passing beneath one or more of arms 49. Support member 57 has a plurality of recesses 58 therein adapted to receive the extensions 56 during certain portions of the operation of the apparatus. Support member 57 is slideably carried by the main frame 43 of the winder and is attached at one end to the piston of a double action air cylinder 59. Double action air cylinder 59 is arranged to be controlled by the operation of bed roll 28 and may be operably connected through a pressure valve 60 and a drive mechanism to the bed roll 28. In this manner, reciprocation of support member 57 is accomplished after a predetermined number of revolutions of bed roll 28 which bear a direct relationship to the length of web wound on a roll 10. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that operation of air cylinder 59 to reciprocably move support member 57 could be controlled by the indexing mechanism of the winder turret assembly with equal success.

In any event, support member 57 is arranged to support the extensions 56 of arms 49 during a substantial portion of the winding of a web roll 10 so that cam 53 may be rotated through at least several revolutions without effecting any lowering or changing of the position of embossing roll 22. However, during the portion of the winding process wherein embossing is desired, support member 57 is axially moved to a point where extensions 56 of arms 49 drop into recesses 58 of support member 57 and, accordingly, follower wheel 50 is free to follow the contour of the camming surface 52. In this arrangement, the portion of the total camming surface 52, which is allotted to the depressed portion 55 thereof, representing the interval during which embossing is desired, is much greater relative to the total length of camming surface 52 employed than in the previous arrangement. Thus, far greater accuracy in achieving positioning of the embossed areas on the web is achieved.

What I claim is:

1. In a winding process wherein a plurality of web rolls are successively wound on mandrels from a substantially continuously advancing flexible web having at least two plies unattached to each other, the improvement comprising preparing end portions of the web adjacent the leading and trailing ends of successive lengths of web to be wound for transfer and attachment to a roll core and a wound roll respectively, by embossing the plies of said web together in at least portions of successive areas spaced apart from each other by substantial lengths of said web in which said plies are unattached to each other, said areas being located adjacent the line of severance of one web length from a preceding web length to effect localized physical attachment of said plies in the area of web severance.

2. In apparatus for Winding a web having two plies unattached to each other, a mandrel on which a web is wound, a rotatably mounted support roll over which the web is fed in partial wrapping engagement to said mandrel, said support roll undergoing one revolution during the feeding of a predetermined length of web which is greater than the circumference of the final wound web roll, means for embossing the plies of the web together in at least portions of successive spaced apart areas located adjacent each side of the line of severance of a first web length from a second web length to effect localized physical attachment of said plies, means to secure the inner ply of the web adjacent the trailing end of the first web length to the wound roll formed by the preceding wound portion of said first web length, and means for transferring the leading edge and for attaching the inner ply of the web adjacent the leading end of the second web length to a core carried by a succeeding mandrel to commence the winding of a new roll.

3. Apparatus for embossing areas of a web at spaced intervals, comprising an anvil roll, an embossing roll mounted for reciprocation into and out of contact with said anvil roll, bias means adapted to exert pressure upon and to urge said embossing roll into contact with said anvil roll, and cam means operably connected to said embossing roll and arranged to overcome the pressure exerted by said bias means upon said embossing roll during the time when the portions of the web in which no embossing is desired pass between the embossing roll and the anvil roll while allowing embossing of the desired portions.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said apparatus includes means responsive to the progress of the winding of a web roll for preventing movement of said embossing roll toward said anvil roll during at least one revolution of said cam.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,174,069 3/1916 Hosford 161146XR 1,174,070 3/1916 Hosford 156-548 1,820,259 8/1931 Wandel 15-209 1,967,726 7/ 1934 Sherman 156-595 XR 3,128,057 4/1964 Bernhardt et a1. 24256 3,134,980 5/1964 Alexander 156-220 3,172,612 3/ 1965 Besserdich 156-184 XR EARL M. BERGERT, Primary Examiner G. W. MOXON III, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

1. IN A WINDING PROCESS WHEREIN A PLURALITY OF WEB RLLS ARE SUCCESSIVELY WOUND ON MANDRELS FROM A SUBSTANTIALLY CONTINUOUSLY ADVANCING FLEXIBLE WEB HAVING AT LEAST TWO PLIES UNATTACHED TO EACH OTHER, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING PREPARING END PORTIONS OF THE WEB ADJACENT THE LEADING AND TRAILING ENDS OF SUCCESSIVE LENGTH OF WEB TO BE WOUND FOR TRANSFER AND ATTACHMENT TO A ROLL CORE AND A WOUND ROLL RESPECTIVELY, BY EMOBOSSING THE PLIES OF SAID WEB TOGETHER IN AT LEAST PORTIONS OF SUCCESSIVE AREAS SPACED APART FROM EACH OTHER BY SUBSTANTIAL LENGTHS OF SAID WEB IN WHICH SAID PLIES ARE UNATTACHED TO EACH OTHER, SAID AREAS BEING LOCATED ADJACENT THE LINE OF SEVERANCE OF ONE WEB LENGTH FROM A PRECEDING WEB LENGTH OT EFFECT LOCALIZED PHYSICAL ATTACHMENT OF SAID PLIES IN THE AREA OF WEB SEVERANCE. 